Indian Startup Rocket.new Raises $15M Seed Round, Targeting AI-Powered App Development
AI
Startups
Vibe Coding
Salesforce Ventures
Funding
App Development
India
9
Future-Proofing Development
Media Hype
7/10
Real Impact
9/10
What is the Viqus Verdict?
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AI Analysis:
While 'vibe-coding' is still a novelty, Rocket.new’s robust approach, backed by substantial funding, points toward a genuine evolution in how applications are built—a trend deserving attention beyond the current hype.
Article Summary
Rocket.new, a Surat-based startup, is making waves in the rapidly evolving AI-powered app development space. Securing a $15 million seed round led by Salesforce Ventures, the company is challenging established 'vibe-coding' platforms like Lovable and Cursor by offering a more robust solution for building production-ready apps directly from natural language prompts. Unlike quick prototypes, Rocket.new’s platform generates fully functional apps, accelerating the development process. Since its June beta launch, the startup has achieved impressive traction with over 400,000 users across 180 countries, generating $4.5 million in annual recurring revenue. Rocket.new combines large language models from Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google's Gemini with its own proprietary deep learning systems, enabling users to create everything from simple websites to complex e-commerce and fintech applications. The startup's focus on iteration and deployment aligns with the enterprise market, capitalizing on a clear gap identified by co-founder and CEO Vishal Virani. With ambitions of scaling to $20–$25 million and ultimately $60–$70 million by next year, Rocket.new is establishing a U.S. headquarters in Palo Alto and doubling its engineering staff in India, signaling a serious commitment to growth.Key Points
- Rocket.new has raised $15 million in seed funding led by Salesforce Ventures to accelerate the development and scaling of its AI-powered app development platform.
- The startup boasts over 400,000 users and $4.5 million in annual recurring revenue, demonstrating significant early market adoption.
- Rocket.new’s core value proposition is building fully functional, production-ready apps from natural language prompts, addressing a key gap in the ‘vibe-coding’ market.